EFTA Agreement Comes into Force

The Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) came into force on September 1.

At this stage, the agreement covers free trade between Georgia, Norway and Iceland. The agreement between Georgia, Lichtenstein and Switzerland will come into force three months after the agreement ratification by Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

The Free Trade Agreement with the EFTA and Georgia was signed in Bern, Switzerland, on June 27, 2016.

“Following the agreement coming into force, Georgian enterprises will have the opportunity to see a large number of their products, with no tariff barriers, on a 14 million, high purchasing power market,” the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia noted in a statement.

In the area of trade in goods, according to the agreement, “the Parties abolish all customs duties on industrial products as of the entry into force of the Agreement”.

The Free Trade Agreement covers trade in goods; trade in services, establishment and protection of intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition and trade, and sustainable development.

Nino Gugunishvili